High Five: Kevin Hart

What’s the biggest challenge facing the cannabis industry right now, and how are you and/or your company addressing it?

What we see are businesses struggling with a combination of price- (product abundance) and market-dynamics (over-licensed areas), along with the well known issues of access to properly priced capital, and 280e. These myriad of intertwined challenges are being managed by smart operators who pay as much attention to their operations as they do to the plant via the data that they have available to them. The cannabis industry doesn’t need more charts and visualizations of issues that have already occurred. They need recommendations and market analysis to make informed decisions. This is where we help.

Where do you see the most exciting opportunity for growth and innovation in cannabis?

We are seeing more and more larger corporations, like them or not, that have the tools and expertise to help, entering the cannabis space to work directly with operators. Larger service providers can provide much needed services with better price points and seamless delivery. The areas of cash management, payments and logistics and distribution will see vast improvements in 2025

What’s one piece of advice you would give to someone looking to break into the cannabis industry?

Do your homework! This isn’t an easy industry, and things rarely go as planned. If you really believe you have the “next big thing”, ask some industry veterans for their opinions. You will find a wide range of folks who want to help, not jack your idea.

Cannabis isn’t immune to the fact that a majority of new businesses fail, so look at like-sized operations in other areas to know which painful lessons to avoid.

What is the most important thing you have learned from your experiences in the cannabis industry?

Never chase the bright shiny object – ever. This is true for products, brands, partners and people. Establish a useful life model for your decisions, asking yourself, how long will this last? And stick with it!

What do you want your legacy to be as it relates to the cannabis industry?

That we, our company Green Check, as a whole, made a difference. We have already seen and heard that so many times from operators that we got them out of a jam with banking or financial services access. We stand by our goal to help operators access the financial and business services that they need. The testimonials are the proof!

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